Mr. Speaker, in this global economic downturn, one thing is obvious: the Canadian economy is doing better than most and we are leading the global recovery. This was confirmed today by the OECD in its economic report.

Although global recovery is fragile, Canada is one of the strongest G7 countries in terms of GDP growth for next year and we will lead the G7 for growth in 2011.

The OECD points out that our Conservative government's economic action plan is contributing to the recovery.

But we must remain focused. We need to stay the course, keep the focus on the economy and fully implement our economic action plan.

That is what the OECD recommends and it is exactly what our Conservative government is doing. We are fighting the recession while the leader of the Bloc Québécois and his party vote against economic recovery.

Mr. Davydovych is the former chair of Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission. He was almost singularly responsible in not accepting the fraudulent second round results of the Ukrainian presidential elections in 2004. He did this at great potential danger to himself and his family.

He alone refused to sign the official tabulation of voting results that would have made the fraudulent elections official. Mr. Davydovych's principled integrity led to a constitutional impasse and a Ukrainian Supreme Court review of the elections. He alone among officials provided critical evidence during the Supreme Court case, while as many as half a million protested during those historic weeks of the Orange Revolution.

He is in Canada to warn of the need for vigilance in the upcoming January 2010 presidential elections and of the need for adequate assistance from Canada's government to ensure that the democratic free will of the Ukrainian people prevails.

I know that all colleagues will want to join me in welcoming Mr. Yaroslav Davydovych to Canada.

Mr. Speaker, since our government took power, the Liberals have continually reminded us by their inaction that it is one thing to offer supportive words to Israel when it is convenient and another to be consistent in steadfast support when it matters.

When rockets were raining down on Israel in 2006, it was our government that proudly stood with our friends in the democratic family of nations, the state of Israel. What did the Liberal leader do? He accused Israel of war crimes.

We were the first government in the world to cut funding to the Hamas-led government in Gaza, which the then Liberal foreign affairs critic, the member for Vancouver South, criticized.

Earlier this year, we led the movement in refusing to attend the Durban conference, which was blatantly anti-Israel, just like we boldly led the walkout on the Iranian president's speech at the UN.

If the Liberals want to compare records, we welcome this comparison. Our government and our Prime Minister will continue to support--

Mr. Speaker, the small business sector is Canada's biggest employer and it is the engine of Canada's economy.

Recently, small businesses expressed concern with the conduct of credit and debit card providers. Today we introduced a proposed code of conduct for the credit and debit card industry for consultation. The measures will help ensure that the credit and debit card industry is accountable.

This is what the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the voice of small business in Canada, said about it:

Today's announcement...constitutes an important step and is timely as we enter the holiday season that is so vital to so many retailers, especially coming out of a recession. We are particularly pleased that government is being proactive.... These developments will create a better future for merchants and help ensure a fair and transparent credit and debit market instead of just letting large industry players call all the shots.

Mr. Speaker, the 2009 federal budget had very little to offer in terms of policies to help women. Once again, the Conservative government missed an excellent opportunity to deal with the issue of pay equity once and for all. Instead, it is still putting women at a disadvantage by making pay equity a negotiable right.

Women working for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada received a $4,000 lump sum payment for pay equity compensation in 2007, but those working for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency were excluded because they were employed by a federal agency. Is that what pay equity is supposed to mean?

In my riding, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, 30 people work for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and 27 of them are women who are still victims of injustice and discrimination.

The Bloc Québécois will continue to fight for truly proactive pay equity legislation.

Mr. Speaker, virtually every Canadian knows the story of Israel, virtually every Canadian knows about the Holocaust and virtually every Canadian strongly supports the safety, security and sustainability of Israel.

What the Prime Minister has done routinely and repeatedly in recent years is to create division where none has existed. By trying to set himself up as the champion of Israel, he has pushed those who feel no less strongly to the other side of his divide, to those who are, in his words, not friends of Israel.

By focusing debate on himself, not on our deep and fundamental support for Israel, he has created doubt about and doubt in those who feel just as strongly. In doing so, he has weakened support for Israel across the country.

By seeking his own political advantage, he has acted not only to be destructive of his political opponents, he has weakened support for the community he purports to stand up for. That is not right. That is offensive.

Mr. Speaker, during the current global downturn, one thing has become crystal clear: Canada's economy is holding up better than most and we are leading the global recovery.

Today's OECD economic report confirms that. Now while the global recovery is fragile and tentative, Canada is among the strongest in the G7 in terms of GDP growth for next year, and we will lead the G7 in growth in 2011. The OECD also notes that our Conservative government's action plan, especially our infrastructure and home renovation tax benefit, is helping fuel the recovery.

We cannot be distracted. We need to stay the course. We need to focus on the economy and fully implement Canada's action plan. That is what the OECD is recommending and that is precisely what this Conservative government is doing.

We are fighting the recession, while the Liberal leader and his party vote time and time again against the recovery and for an election. This shows clearly and sadly that they are not in it for Canadians; they are in it for themselves.

Mr. Speaker, the testimony yesterday of Richard Colvin before the Afghanistan committee showed two clear things. First, Mr. Colvin testified that he had information with respect to the mistreatment of prisoners in Afghan prisons and that he gave that information to his superiors. Second, Mr. Colvin testified that he was also told by his superiors to shut up, essentially.

Given the importance of these two revelations, the revelations of mistreatment, harsh treatment and even torture, and the revelation with respect to a cover-up, would the minister not agree with me and with others that there should indeed be a full public inquiry into what has taken place with respect to the transfer of these detainees?